Iron Manny Sits Out

(Otto Greule Jr. / Getty Images | Reuters Photo)

Self-Proclaimed Sore Knee Takes Tito by Surprise

Ramirez An Unexpected Scratch in SeattleIs Manny Going Into Shut Down Mode Early This Year?Is He Taking Yet Another In-Season Vacation Day?Is It Really a Sore Knee Keeping Manny from the Grueling Job of DH'ing?Or Is This a Message to Management?

"He showed up this morning, I wasn't ready for that,'' Francona said. "He said his right knee hurts.''
Francona then joked, "The (expletive) jaywalking, if you do it right, you won't hurt your knee.''
Ramirez told reporters his knee has been bothering him for about a week.
"I've just been trying to play it out," he said, while jokingly singing for tips at his locker in the clubhouse, with his I-Pod docked to a speaker and a cup out seeking donations from teammates. "I decided it was time to give it a rest."
Asked if he would be ready for the Yankees series, which begins Friday, Ramirez said, "I don't know. I'm day-to-day at this point."-- 7.23.08, Extra Bases